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THE 


RULES   AND   BY-LAWS 


gonrfl  of  Qvtxttw  of  fjawarfl  <SoIUg». 


TO  WHICH   IS  APPENDED 


THE    COLLEGE    CHARTER, 


SUNDRY  ACTS  AND  INSTRUMENTS    RELATING  TO  THE  POWERS 
AND    DUTIES    OF   THE    OVERSEERS. 


BOSTON: 

J.     E.    FAR  WELL    &    CO.,    PRINTERS, 

No.    37    Congress    Street. 
186  9. 


IN   BOARD   OF   OVERSEERS   OF    HARVARD   COLLEGE, 

February  25,  1869. 

Resolved.  That  the  Rules  and  By-Laws  of  the  Board 
of  Overseers  as  they  now  stand  be  printed,  and  be  bound 
up  in  the  existing  books  of  the  Rules,  By-Laws,  Charter, 
and  other  Acts  and  Instruments  relating  to  the  powers  and 
duties  of  the  Overseers,  in  place  of  the  Rules  and  By- 
Laws  and  their  Amendments  now  in  such  books,  being  the 
first  eighteen  pages  of  said  books,  and  the  Amendments  to 
the  same. 

Attest : 

NATHANIEL  B.  SHURTLEFF, 

Secretary. 


RULES  AND  BY-LAWS 


OVERSEERS   OF   HARVARD   COLLEGE, 


OFFICERS. 


Section  1.  —  The  officers  of  the  Board  shall 
be  a  President  and  Secretary. 

Sect.  2. — The  President  shall  be  elected 
by  ballot,  at  each  annual  meeting,  and  shall 
hold  his  office  for  one  year,  and  until  his  suc- 
cessor is  chosen,  if  he  so  long  continues  a 
member  of  the  Board.  When  a  vacancy 
exists  at  any  other  time,  it  shall  be  filled  for 
the  remainder  of  the  term.  In  the  absence 
of  the  President,  a  President  pro  tempore  shall 
be  chosen  by  ballot. 

Sect.  3. — The  Secretary,  who  may  or 
may  not  be  a  member  of  the   Board,  shall  be 


4  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

elected  by  ballot  at  the  annual  meeting  in  the 
year  1868,  and  every  third  year  thereafter,  and 
shall  hold  his  office  for  the  term  of  three  years, 
and  until  his  successor  is  elected  and  qualified. 
When  a  vacancy  occurs  at  any  other  time  it 
shall  be  filled  by  election  for  the  remainder  of 
the  term.  In  the  absence  of  the  Secretary  a 
Secretary  pro  tempore  shall  be  chosen. 

MEETINGS. 

Section  4 — The  annual  meeting  of  the  Over- 
seers shall  be  held  in  Boston  on  the  second 
Wednesday  of  July.  The  other  stated  meet- 
ings shall  be  held  at  Cambridge  on  Commence- 
ment Day,  and  at  Boston  on  the  second  Wed- 
nesdays of  January,  April  and  October  in  each 
year,  at  some  central  place  to  be  selected  by 
the  Secretary,  unless  designated  by  the  Board. 
Special  meetings  will  be  convened  upon  appli- 
cation made  to  the  Secretary  in  writing  by  the 
President  of    the   Board,    by   the   President  or 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  0 

President  and  Fellows  of  the  College,  or  by 
seven  or  more  Overseers,  setting  forth  the  object 
of  the  meeting,  its  time  and  its  place,  either  in 
Cambridge  or  Boston.  Meetings  may  be  held 
by  adjournment  at  such  timesand  places  as  the 
Board  shall  order. 

Sect.  5. — Notice  of  all  meetings  of  the 
Board,  and  of  all  adjournments  thereof,  shall 
be  given  by  the  Secretary,  or  in  case  of  his 
absence,  inability  or  neglect,  or  of  a  vacancy  in 
the  office,  by  the  President,  —  the  notification 
of  the  meeting  to  specify  its  time  and  place, 
and,  if  a  special  one,  its  object;  and  to  be 
mailed  to  the  address  of  each  member  at  least 
seven  days,  and  published  in  not  less  than  two 
newspapers  of  Boston  at  least  three  days,  before 
the  time  of  the  meeting.  Provided,  that  in  the 
case  of  a  special  meeting,  alleged  in  the  appli- 
cation therefor  to  be  one  of  great  urgency, 
notice  will  be  sufficient  if  mailed  four  days 
before  the  same.  A.nd  provided  further,  that 
the  Board  may,  in  adjourning  from  day  to  day, 
dispense  with  notice  thereof  by  the  Secretary. 


6  KULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

Sect.  6.  —  The  votes  and  proceedings  of 
the  Overseers,  with  the  names  of  the  mem- 
bers present  at  each  meeting,  shall  be  re- 
corded ;  and  the  record  shall  be  produced  by 
the  Secretary  at  the  Overseers'  meetings.  At 
the  opening  of  every  meeting,  the  journal  of 
the  preceding  meeting  shall  be  read  by  the 
Secretary,  unless  otherwise  ordered. 

Sect.  7. — The  Secretary  shall  have  a  list 
of  the  Overseers,  ready  to  be  produced  at 
any  meeting.  He  shall  also  acquaint  the 
Presiding  Officer,  in  writing,  what  Commit- 
tees have  not  reported,  and  what  business  is 
by  assignment  to  come  before  the  Board. 

Sect.  8. — A  quorum  of  not  less  than  nine 
members  shall  be  requisite  for  the  transaction 
of  any  business,  except  adjourning,  or  ob- 
taining the  attendance  of  members. 

Sect.  9.  There  shall  be  laid  before  the 
Overseers,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  the  close  of 
the  fiscal  year,  by  the  President  of  the  Univer- 
sity, a  statement,  authenticated  by  the  Treas- 
urer, of  the  expenses  of  the  Institution  during 
the  past  College  year. 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  7 

Sect.  10. — There  shall  always  be  present- 
ed an  attested  copy  of  such  votes  of  the  Cor- 
poration as  are  laid  before  the  Overseers  for 
their  confirmation  ;  and  the  Secretary  shall  from 
time  to  time,  and  as  soon  as  conveniently  may 
be,  deliver  to  the  President  of  the  University  an 
attested  copy  of  the  votes  of  the  Overseers,  to 
be  by  him  communicated  to  the  Corporation. 

Sect.  11. — The  Overseers  will  not  receive 
any  votes  from  the  Corporation  as  to  givino- 
degrees  on  Commencement  Day,  except  such 
as  shall  be  presented  before  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon  of  that  day  ;  and  the  grounds  and 
reasons  of  the  Corporation  for  conferring 
occasional  degrees  shall  be  laid  before  the 
Overseers. 

Sect.  12.  —When  the  consent  of  the  Over- 
seers shall  be  asked  to  a  vote  of  the  Corporation 
electing  any  person  to  be  an  officer  of  instruc- 
tion or  government  or  a  lecturer  in  the  Univer- 
sity, or  conferring  on  any  person  an  honorary 
degree,  the  decision  shall  be  by  ballot ;  except 


O  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

in  the  case  of  Proctors,  when  the  question  may 
be  taken  orally  or  by  resolution. 

Sect.  13.  — No  nomination  of  a  member  of 
the  Corporation  or  of  a  permanent  Professor 
shall  be  ratified  by  the  Board,  except  at  a 
meeting  or  adjournment  held  on  seven  days' 
notice ;  nor  shall  any  such  nomination  be 
finally  acted  on  at  the  meeting  or  adjourn- 
ment at  which  it  shall  have  been  made. 

Sect.  14. — All  Committees  shall  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  Presiding  Officer,  excepting  \n 
those  cases  where  it  may  be  otherwise  deter- 
mined by  the  Overseers ;  and  the  person  first 
named  shall  be  Chairman. 

Sect.  15.  — When  any  member  shall  require 
a  question  to  be  determined  by  yeas  and  nays, 
the  President  shall  take  the  sense  of  the  Board 
in  that  manner,  provided  that  one  fourth  part  of 
the  members  present  shall  be  in  favor  of  it. 

Sect.  16.— Whenever  a  question  shall  be 
taken  by  yeas  and  nays,  the  Secretary  shall 
call  the  names  of  all  the  members,  except  the 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  V 

President ;  and  no  member  shall  be  permitted 
to  vote  after  the  decision  is  announced  from 
the  chair. 

Sect.  17.  —  No  member  shall  speak  more 
than  once  on  one  question,  to  the  prevention 
of  any  other  who  has  not  spoken,  and  is  de- 
sirous to  speak  ;  nor  more  than  twice,  without 
leave  of  the  Board. 

Sect.  18.  —  When  two  or  more  members 
rise  at  once,  the  President  shall  name  the 
member  who  is  to  speak  first. 

Sect.  19.  —  Every  member,  when  he 
speaks,  shall  stand  in  his  place,  and  address 
the  Presiding  Officer  as  "  Mr.  President,"  and 
shall  confine  himself  to  the  question  under 
debate. 

Sect.  20.  —  No  member  speaking  shall  be 
interrupted  by  another  but  by  rising  to  call 
to  order. 

Sect.  21.  — After  a  question  is  put  to  vote, 
no  member  shall  speak  to  it. 

Sect.   22.  — Every  motion  shall  be  received 


10  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

and  considered,  and  shall  be  reduced  to  writ- 
ing if  the  President  direct  it ;  and  no  member 
shall  be  permitted  to  lay  a  motion  in  writing 
on  the  table,  until  he  has  read  it  in  his  place. 

Sect.  23. —  A  question  containing  two  or 
more  propositions  capable  of^division  shall  be 
divided  whenever  desired  by  any  member. 

Sect.  24.  —  If  any  member  shall  rise  to 
doubt  a  vote  upon  its  being  declared  from  the 
chair,  the  President  shall  ascertain  the  number 
voting  in  the  affirmative  and  in  the  negative, 
without  any  farther  debate.  He  may  vote  on 
all  questions,  but  shall  not  be  required  to  do 
so  unless  the  Board  shall  be  equally  divided, 
or  unless  his  vote,  if  given  in  the  minority, 
would  affect  the  result. 

Sect.  25.  —  When  a  vote  has  passed,  it 
shall  be  in  order  for  any  member  to  move  a 
reconsideration  on  the  same  day ;  and,  when 
a  motion  for  reconsideration  is  decided,  that 
decision  shall  not  be  reconsidered. 

Sect.   26.  — The  rules  of  parliamentary  pro- 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  11 

ceeding,  as  received  and  practised  in  the  Legis- 
lature of  tliis  Commonwealth,  shall  govern  the 
Board  in  all  cases  to  which  they  are  applicable, 
and  in  which  they  are  not  inconsistent  with  these 
Rules  and  By-Laws. 

COMMITTEES. 

Sect.  27.  There  shall  be  the  following 
Committees  —  the  first  to  consist  wholly  of 
ex  officio  members  ;  the  others  to  be  appoint- 
ed at  the  annual  meeting,  or  at  some  subse- 
quent meeting,  in  such  manner  as  the  Board 
may  determine  :  — 

1. — A  Committee  to  visit  the  University,  to  consist  of 
the  President  and  Secretary  of  this  Board,  the  Governor 
and  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  the 
President  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, and  the  Chairman  of  each  of  the  other  Visiting 
Committees.  This  Committee  will  be  expected  to  attend 
the  annual  Commencement  and  other  public  exercises 
of  the  University,  or  any  of  its  departments,  and  to 
represent  this  Board  and  the  Commonwealth  thereat ; 
the  President  of  the  College,  or  some  other  officer 
charged  with  the  duty,  giving  the  members  of  said 
Committee  due  notice  of  such  occasions. 


12  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

2.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Academical  Department, 
or  College  proper,  to  consist  of  at  least  nine  members,  six 
of  whom  shall  be  elective  members  of  this  Board.  The 
duty  of  this  Committee  shall  be  to  learn  what  are  the 
methods  of  government  and  instruction  in  the  Academical 
Department,  to  make  themselves  personally  acquainted  with 
the  mode  in  which  the  daily  recitations  and  private  and  pub- 
lic examinations  are  conducted,  and,  in  general,  to  take 
such  measures,  and  distribute  the  work  in  such  manner,  as 
in  their  judgment  will  best  enable  them  to  report  in  full  on 
the  condition,  wants  and  prospects  of  the  institution 

3.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Divinity  School. 

4.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Law  School. 

5.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School 
and  the  School  of  Mining  and  Practical  Geology. 

G.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Medical  School  and  the 
Dental  School. 

7.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Observatory. 

8.  —  A  Committee  to  visit  the  Library,  five  of  whom 
shall  be  members  of  this  Board. 

9.  —  A  Committee  to  examine  the  Treasurer's  Accounts,, 
of  whom  at  least  three  shall  be  elective  members  of  this 
Board. 

10.  —  A  Committee  on  elections,  to  consist  of  five  elec- 
tive members  of  this  Board,  whose  duty  is  assigned  in  Sec- 
tion 38  of  these  rules  and  by-laws. 

11.  —  A  Committee  on  reports  and  resolutions,  to  consist 
of  seven  elective  members  of  this  Board,  whose  duty  shall 
be  to  receive  the  annual  reports  of  the  several  Committees, 
after  they  have  been  read  before  this  Board,  and  consider 
and  report  whether  any,  and,  if  any,  what  action  is  called 
for  by  the  same,  and  also  to  attend  to  any  other  business 
that  may  be  referred  to  them,  from  time  to  time,  by  this 
Board,  and  to  report  thereon. 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  13 

Sect.  28.  —  Each  elective  member  of  this 
Board  shall  be  upon  one  or  more  of  the  above- 
mentioned  Committees.  Each  Visiting  Commit- 
tee shall  consist  of  seven  or  more  members,  the 
Chairman  of  which  shall  be  an  elective  member 
of  this  Board.  But  persons  not  Overseers  may 
be  appointed  to  serve  on  any  of  the  Visiting 
Committees,  or  on  the  Committee  to  examine 
the  Treasurer's  accounts,  if  specially  qualified 
for  the  duty  ;  the  same  not  to  interfere  with 
any  express  provision  elsewhere  made.  The 
Chairman  of  each  of  the  Committees,  except 
the  Committee  to  visit  the  University,  shall 
notify  each  member  of  the  Committee,  not  an 
Overseer,  of  his  election,  with  a  request  that  he 
serve,  and  in  case  of  his  failure  to  accept,  or  of 
any  vacancy  in  any  such  place,  the  Committee 
shall  fill  the  same. 

Sect.  29. — The  apparatus,  libraries,  and 
scientific  collections  belonging  to  the  several 
departments  of  the  University  shall  be  exam- 
ined and  reported  on  by  the  Committees  ap- 
pointed to  visit    said  departments  respectively. 


14  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

Sect.  30.  — The  several  Visiting  Commit- 
tees, except  that  appointed  to  visit  the  Uni- 
versity, shall  report  in  writing  at  the  stated 
meeting  in  October,  and  their  reports,  alter 
they  have  been  read  before  the  Board,  shall 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  reports  and 
resolutions. 

Sect.  31. — After  the  report  of  the  last 
mentioned  Committee  is  received  and  acted  on 
by  this  Board,  a  certified  copy  of  the  record  of 
said  action,  together  with  the  reports  on  which 
it  is  founded,  shall  be  referred  to  the  Cor- 
poration. 

ELECTIONS. 

Section  32.  — The  election  of  Overseers  on 
Commencement  Day  in  each  year,  shall  be  held 
in  some  suitable  room  within  the  College  yard, 
in  Cambridge,  notice  of  the  time  and  place 
of  which,  and  of  the  hours  during  which  the 
polls  will  be  kept  open,  and  of  the  number 
of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  including  the  va- 
cancies to  be  filled,  with  the  terms  for  which 
they  are  to  be  chosen,  shall    be  given  by  the 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  15 

President  and  Secretary,  by  publication  in  two 
newspapers  printed  in  the  city  of  Boston,  the 
first  publication  to  be  two  weeks  before  the  day 
of  election. 

Sect.  33.  —  At  some  meeting  before  each 
election,  there  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Board, 
upon  nomination  by  the  President,  one  principal 
and  two  assistant  inspectors  of  polls,  who,  be- 
fore entering  upon  their  duties  shall  be  sworn 
to  the  faithful  discharge  thereof. 

Sect.  34. — The  President  and  Secretary 
shall  issue  a  warrant  under  their  hands  to  the 
persons  appointed  inspectors  of  polls,  specify- 
ing the  number  of  Overseers  to  be  elected, 
including  the  vacancies  to  be  filled,  with  the 
terms  for  which  they  are  to  be  chosen,  and 
directing  said  inspectors  to  conduct  the  elec- 
tion in  manner  and  form  as  the  law  provides, 
with  such  other  instructions  as  to  their  duties 
as  may  be  deemed  proper ;  and  shall  furnish 
said  inspectors  with  a  record  book  and  a  com- 
plete list  of  the  persons  qualified  to  vote,  to 
be  used  as  a  check  list. 


16  RULES    AND    BY-LAWS. 

Sect.  35. — The  inspectors  shall  carefully 
preserve  all  the  ballots  cast,  and  after  making 
their  record  thereof,  shall  cause  the  same  to  be 
sealed  up  in  an  envelope,  which  shall  be  in- 
dorsed with  a  certificate,  under  their  hands, 
that  the  same  contains  all  the  ballots  cast  at 
the  election  for  the  officers  therein  specified , 
and  none  other.  Immediately  after  the  elec- 
tion, they  shall  deliver  such  envelope,  so 
sealed  and  indorsed,  with  said  record  book, 
upon  which  they  shall  have  entered  their 
records,  and  said  check  list,  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Board. 

Sect.  36. — The  Secretary  shall  forthwith 
notify  the  persons  who  appear  by  the  records 
of  the  inspectors  to  be  elected,  and  such  per- 
sons shall  be  entitled  to  their  seats  as  members, 
except  as  provided  in  the  following  Section,  and 
subject  to  the  decision  of  the  Board,  upon  their 
right  to  hold  the  same. 

Sect.  37.  —  When  a  person  is  elected  to  fill 
a  vacancy,  he  shall  not  be  entitled  to  hold  his 
seat  until  the  board  shall  have  decided  his  right 


RULES    AND    BY-LAWS.  .  17 

thereto,  if    the  person  in  whose   place  he  was 
elected  appears  and  claims  the  same. 

Sect.  38.  —  The  records  and  papers  of  the 
inspectors  of  polls  shall  be  laid  before  the 
Board  at  the  next  assembling  thereof  after 
the  election,  and  the  same  shall  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Elections  for  their  exami- 
nation and  report ;  but  they  need  not  examine 
the  ballots  returned,  unless  specially  directed 
so  to  do  by  the  Board. 

ALTERATION  AND  SUSPENSION  OF  EULES. 

Section  39. — Any  rule  or  by-law  may  be 
altered  or  suspended  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds 
of  the  members  of  the  Board,  and  may  be  sus- 
pended by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  mem- 
bers present  and  voting,  except  the  13th  sec- 
tion, which  shall  never  be  suspended,  and  shall 
never  be  altered  or  repealed,  except  at  a  meet- 
ing held  at  least  seven  days  after  the  day  on 
which  the  alteration  or  repeal  is  proposed. 


CHARTER    AND    LAWS. 


CHARTER  AND   LAWS. 


The  Act  establishing  the  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College. 

At  a  General  Court  held  at  Boston,  on  the  8th  of 
September,  in  the  year  1642. 

Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God 
upon  us,  there  is  a  College  founded  in  Cam- 
bridge, in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  called 
Harvard  College,  for  the  encouragement 
whereof  this  Court  has  given  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  pounds,  and  also  the  revenue  of  the 
ferry  betwixt  Charlestown  and  Boston,  and 
that  the  well  ordering  and  managing  0f  the 
said  College  is  of  great  concernment,  — 

It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court  and 
the  authority  thereof,  that  the  Governor  and 


22  ACT    ESTABLISHING 

Deputy-Governor  for  the  time  being,  and  all 
the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  together 
with  the  teaching  elders  of  the  six  next  ad- 
joining towns,  — viz. ,  Cambridge,  Watertown, 
Charlestown,  Boston,  Koxbury,  and  Dorches- 
ter, —  and  the  President  of  the  said  College 
for  the  time  being,  shall,  from  time  to  time, 
have  full  power  and  authority  to  make  and 
establish  all  such  orders,  statutes,  and  con- 
stitutions as  they  shall  see  necessary  for  the 
instituting,  guiding,  and  furthering  of  the  said 
College,  and  the  several  members  thereof, 
from  time  to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and 
learning ;  as  also  to  dispose,  order,  and  man- 
age, to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  College 
and  the  members  thereof,  all  gifts,  legacies, 
bequeaths,  revenues,  lands,  and  donations,  as 
either  have  been,  are,  or  shall  be  conferred, 
bestowed,  or  any  ways  shall  fall  or  come  to 
the  said  College. 

And  whereas  it  may  come  to  pass  that  many 
of  the  said  magistrates  and  elders  may  be  ab- 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  23 

sent,  or  otherwise  employed  in  other  weighty 
affairs,  when  the  said  College  may  need  their 
present  help  and  counsel,  —  It  is  therefore 
ordered,  that  the  greater  number  of  magis- 
trates and  elders  which  shall  be  present,  with 
the  President,  shall  have  the  power  of  the 
whole.  Provided,  that  if  any  constitution, 
order,  or  orders,  by  them  made,  shall  be  found 
hurtful  unto  the  said  College,  or  the  mem- 
bers thereof,  or  to  the  weal  public,  then,  upon 
appeal  of  the  party  or  parties  grieved  unto 
the  company  of  Overseers  first  mentioned, 
they  shall  repeal  the  said  order  or  orders,  if 
they  shall  see  cause,  at  their  next  meeting, 
or  stand  accountable  thereof  to  the  next  Gen- 
eral Court. 

[This  act  is  copied  from  "  The  General  Laws  of  the 
Massachusetts  Colony,  revised  and  published  by  order 
of  the  General  Court  in  October,  1653 ;  "  which  was 
the  second  edition  of  the  Laws  of  the  Colony,  and  was 
printed  in  1660.  It  varies  slightly  in  phraseology  from 
the  Act  contained  in  the  Kecords  of  the  General  Court, 
vol.  ii.  page  24.] 


24  CHAKTER. 

II. 

The  Charter  of  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College,  under  the  seal  of 
the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and 
bearing  date  may  31,  a.d.  1g50. 

Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God, 
many  well-devoted  persons  have  been,  and 
daily  are,  moved  and  stirred  up  to  give  and 
bestow  sundry  gifts,  legacies,  lands,  and  reve- 
nues, for  the  advancement  of  all  good  litera- 
ture, arts,  and  sciences,  in  Harvard  College, 
in  Cambridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
and  to  the  maintenance  of  the  President  and 
Fellows,  and  for  all  accommodations  of  build- 
ings, and  all  other  necessary  provisions  that 
may  conduce  to  the  education  of  the  English 
and  Indian  youth  of  this  country  in  knowl- 
edge and  godliness,  — 

It  is  therefore  ordered  and  enacted  by  this 
Court  and  the  authority  thereof,  that  for  the 
furthering  of  so  good  a  work,  and  for  the  pur- 


CHARTER.  25 

poses  aforesaid,  from  henceforth  that  the  said 
College  in  Cambridge,  in  Middlesex,  in  New 
England,  shall  be  a  Corporation,  consisting  of 
seven  persons,  to  wit,  a  President,  five  Fel- 
lows, and  a  Treasurer  or  Bursar;  and  that 
Henry  Dunster  shall  be  the  first  President, 
Samuel  Mather,  Samuel  Danforth,  Mas- 
ters of  Art,  Jonathan  Mitchell,  Comfort 
Starr,  and  Samuel  Eaton,  Bachelors  of  Art, 
shall  be  the  five  Fellows,  and  Thomas  Dan- 
forth to  be  present  Treasurer,  all  of  them 
being  inhabitants  in  the  Bay,  and  shall  be  the 
first  seven  persons  of  which  the  said  Corpor- 
ation shall  consist ;  and  that  the  said  seven 
persons,  or  the  greater  number  of  them,  pro- 
curing the  presence  of  the  Overseers  of  the 
College,  and  by  their  counsel  and  consent, 
shall  have  power,  and  are  hereby  authorized, 
at  any  time  or  times,  to  elect  a  new  Presi- 
dent, Fellows,  or  Treasurer,  so  oft,  and  from 
time  to  time,  as  any  of  the  said  person  or 
persons  shall  die  or  be  removed ;  which  said 


26  CHARTER. 

President  and  Fellows  for  the  time  beinjr 
shall  for  ever  hereafter,  in  name  and  fact,  be 
one  body  politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  and  shall  have  perpet- 
ual succession,  and  shall  be  called  by  the 
name  of  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  and  shall  from  time  to  time  be  elig- 
ible as  aforesaid;  and,  by  that  name,  they 
and  their  successors  shall  and  may  purchase 
and  acquire  to  themselves,  or  take  and  receive 
upon  free  gift  and  donation,  any  lands,  tene- 
ments, or  hereditaments,  within  this  juris- 
diction of  the  Massachusetts,  not  exceeding 
the  value  of  five  hundred  pounds  per  annum, 
and  any  goods  and  sums  of  money  whatso- 
ever to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  Presi- 
dent, Fellows,  and  scholars  of  the  said  Col- 
lege ;  and  also  may  sue  and  plead,  or  be  sued 
and  impleaded,  by  the  name  aforesaid,  in  all 
courts  and  places  of  judicature  within  the 
jurisdiction  aforesaid. 

And   that  the    said   President,    with   any 


CHARTER.  27 

three  of  the  Fellows,  shall  have  power,  and 
are  hereby  authorized,  when  they  shall  think 
fit,  to  make  and  appoint  a  common  seal  for 
the  use  of  the  said  Corporation.  And  the 
President  and  Fellows,  or  the  major  part  of 
them,  from  time  to  time,  may  meet  and  choose 
such  officers  and  servants  for  the  College, 
and  make  such  allowance  to  them,  and  them 
also  to  remove,  and,  after  death  or  removal, 
to  choose  such  others,  and  to  make  from 
time  to  time  such  orders  and  by-laws,  for  the 
better  ordering  and  carrying-on  the  work  of 
the  College,  as  they  shall  think  fit ;  provided 
the  said  orders  be  allowed  by  the  Overseers. 
And  also  that  the  President  and  Fellows,  or 
major  part  of  them,  with  the  Treasurer,  shall 
have  power  to  make  conclusive  bargains  for 
lands  and  tenements,  to  be  purchased  by 
the  said  Corporation  for  valuable  considera- 
tions. 

And,  for  the  better  ordering  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  said  College  and  Corporation, — 


28  CHARTER. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
the  President  and  three  more  of  the  Fellows 
shall  and  may  from  time  to  time,  upon  due 
warning  or  notice  given  by  the  President  to 
the  rest,  hold  a  meeting  for  the  debating  and 
concluding  of  affairs  concerning  the  profits 
and  revenues  of  any  lands,  and  disposing  of 
their  goods  (provided  that  all  the  said  dispos- 
ings  be  according  to  the  will  of  the  donors) , 
and  for  direction  in  all  emergent  occasions, 
execution  of  all  orders  and  by-laws,  and  for 
the  procuring  of  a  general  meeting  of  all  the 
Overseers  and  Society  in  great  and  difficult 
cases,  and  in  cases  of  non-agreement ;  in  all 
which  cases  aforesaid,  the  conclusion  shall  be 
made  by  the  major  part,  the  said  President 
having  a  casting  voice,  the  Overseers  con- 
senting thereunto.  And  that  all  the  aforesaid 
transactions  shall  tend  to  and  for  the  use  and 
behoof  of  the  President,  Fellows,  scholars, 
and  officers  of  the  said  College,  and  for  all 
accommodations  of  buildings,  books,  and  all 


CHARTER.  29 

other  necessary  provisions  and  furnitures  as 
may  be  for  the  advancement  and  education  of 
youth  in  all  manner  of  good  literature,  arts, 
and  sciences. 

And,  further,  be  it  ordered  by  this  Court 
and  the  authority  thereof,  that  all  the  lands, 
tenements,  or  hereditaments,  houses,  or  reve- 
nues, within  this  jurisdiction,  to  the  aforesaid 
President  or  College  appertaining,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  value  of  five  hundred  pounds 
per  annum,  shall  from  henceforth  be  freed 
from  all  civil  impositions,  taxes,  and  rates ; 
all  goods  to  the  said  Corporation,  or  to  any 
scholars  thereof,  appertaining,  shall  be  ex- 
empted from  all  manner  of  toll,  customs,  and 
excise  whatsoever ;  and  that  the  said  Presi- 
dent, Fellows,  and  scholars,  together  with  the 
servants,  and  other  necessary  officers  to  the 
said  President  or  College  appertaining,  not 
exceeding  ten, — viz.,  three  to  the  President 
and  seven  to  the  College  belonging,  —  shall 

be  exempted  from  all  personal  civil  offices, 

a* 


30  APPENDIX. 

military  exercises  or  services,  watchings  and 
wardings ;  and  such  of  their  estates,  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  pounds  a  man,  shall  be 
free  from  all  country  taxes  or  rates  whatso- 
ever, and  none  others. 

In  witness  whereof,  the  Court  hath  caused 
the  seal  of  the  Colony  to  be  hereunto  affixed. 
Dated  the  one  and  thirtieth  day  of  the  third 
month,  called  May,  anno  1650. 

[l.  s.l  Tho  :  Dudley,  Governor. 

[The  above  is  a  copy  of  the  original  Charter,  en- 
grossed on  parchment,  under  the  signature  of  Gov. 
Dudley,  with  the  Colony  seal  appendant,  in  the  custody 
of  the  President  and  Eellows  of  Harvard  College. 
The  Charter,  varying  slightly  in  phraseology,  is  also 
contained  in  the  Records  of  the  General  Court,  vol.  iv. 
page  10.] 

III. 

An  Appendix  to  the  College  Charter,  granted 
by  an  Act  of  the  General  Court  of  the 
Colony,  passed  A.D.  1657. 

At  a  General  Court  held  at  Boston,  the  14th  of 
October,  1657. 

In  answer   to  certain  proposals  presented 


APPENDIX.  31 

to  this  Court  by  the  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College,  as  an  Appendix  to  the  College 
Charter,  it  is  ordered,  — 

The  Corporation  shall  have  power,  from 
time  to  time,  to  make  such  orders  and  by- 
laws, for  the  better  ordering,  and  carrying-on 
of  the  work  of  the  College,  as  they  shall  see 
cause,  without  dependence  upon  the  consent 
of  the  Overseers  foregoing.  Provided  al- 
ways, that  the  Corporation  shall  be  respon- 
sible unto,  and  those  orders  and  by-laws  shall 
be  alterable  by,  the  Overseers,  according  to 
their  discretion. 

And  when  the  Corporation  shall  hold  a 
meeting,  and  agreeing  with  College  servants, 
for  making  of  orders  and  by-laws,  for  debat- 
ing and  concluding  of  affairs  concerning  the 
profits  and  revenues  of  any  lands  or  gifts, 
and  the  disposing  thereof  (provided  that  all 
the  said  disposals  be  according  to  the  will  of 
the  donors),  for  managing  of  all  emergent 
occasions,    for   the   procuring   of  a   general 


32  APPENDIX. 

meeting  of  the  Overseers  and  Society  in  great 
and  difficult  cases,  and  in  cases  of  non-agree- 
ment, and  for  all  other  College  affairs  to  them 
pertaining,  —  in  all  these  cases  the  conclusion 
shall  be  valid,  being  made  by  the  major  part 
of  the  Corporation,  the  President  having  a 
casting  vote.  Provided  always,  that,  in 
these  things  also,  they  be  responsible  to  the 
Overseers  as  aforesaid. 

And  in  case  the  Corporation  shall  see 
cause  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers,  or 
the  Overseers  shall  think  good  to  meet  of 
themselves,  it  shall  be  sufficient  unto  the 
validity  of  College  acts,  that  notice  be  given 
to  the  Overseers  in  the  six  towns  mentioned 
in  the  printed  law,  anno  1642,  when  the  rest 
of  the  Overseers,  by  reason  of  the  remote- 
ness of  their  habitations,  cannot  conveniently 
be  acquainted  therewith. 

[This  Act  is  taken  from  the  Records  of  the  General 
Court,  vol.  iv.  page  265.] 


CONFIRMATION    OF    CHARTER.  33 

IV. 

Extract  from  a  Resolve  of  the  Provincial 
General  Court,  passed  A.D.  1707,  declaring 
the  College  Charter  of  1650  not  repealed, 
and  directing  the  president  and  fellows 
of  the  College  to  exercise  the  Powers 
granted  by  it. 

At  a  Great  and  General  Court  for  her  Majesty's 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  begun  and  held 
at  Boston  upon  the  28th  of  May,  1707,  and  contin- 
ued by  several  prorogations  unto  the  29th  of  Octo- 
ber following ,  being  the  third  session. 

IN    COUNCIL. 

Thursday,  Dec.  4,  1707. 

And  inasmuch  as  the  first  foundation  and 
establishment  of  that  House  [Harvard  Col- 
lege, in  Cambridge],  and  the  government 
thereof,  had  its  original  from  an  act  of  the 
General  Court,  made  and  passed  in  the  year 


34  CONFIRMATION    OF    CHARTER. 

1650,  which  has  not  been  repealed  or  nulled, 
—  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the  said  Col- 
lege are  directed,  from  time  to  time,  to  regu- 
late themselves  according  to  the  rules  of  the 
Constitution  by  the  said  Act  prescribed,  and 
to  exercise  the  powers  and  authorities  there- 
by granted  for  the  government  of  that  House, 
and  the  support  thereof. 

Saturday,  Dec.  6,  1707. 

The  Representatives  returned  the  Vote 
passed  in  Council,  the  4th  current,  referring 
to  the  College,  with  their  concurrence  there- 
unto. 

By  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  consented 

to, 

Joseph  Dudley. 

[This  Resolve  is  taken  from  the  Records  of  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  vol.  viii.  page  344.] 


PROVISIONS    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION.        35 


The  Articles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts,  confirming 
and  securing  to  harvard  college  the  per- 
PETUAL Possession  and  Enjoyment  of  all  its 
Estates,  Rights,  Powers,  and  Privileges. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Sect.  I.  —  The  University. 

Art.  1.  — Whereas  our  wise  and  pious  an- 
cestors, so  early  as  the  year  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  thirty-six,  laid  the  foundation 
of  Harvard  College,  in  which  University 
many  persons  of  great  eminence  have,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  been  initiated  in  those  arts 
and  sciences  which  qualified  theni  for  public 
employments  both  in  Church  and  State  ;  and 
whereas  the  encouragement  of  arts  and  sci- 
ences and  all  good  literature  tends  to  the 
honor  of  God,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian 


36       PROVISIONS    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION. 

religion,  and  the  great  benefit  of  this  and 
the  other  United  States  of  America,  —  It  is 
declared  that  the  President  and  Felloivs  of 
Harvard  College  in  their  corporate  capacity, 
and  their  successors  in  that  capacity,  their 
officers  and  servants,  shall  have,  hold,  use, 
exercise,  and  enjoy  all  the  powers,  authori- 
ties, rights,  liberties,  privileges,  immunities, 
and  franchises  which  they  now  have,  or  are 
entitled  to  have,  hold,  use,  exercise,  and  en- 
joy ;  and  the  same  are  hereby  ratified  and 
confirmed  unto  them,  the  said  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  and  to  their 
successors,  and  to  their  officers  and  servants 
respectively,  for  ever. 

Art.  2.  —  And  whereas  there  have  been  at 
sundry  times,  by  divers  persons,  gifts,  grants, 
devises  of  houses,  lands,  tenements,  goods, 
chattels,  legacies,  and  conveyances,  hereto- 
fore made  either  to  Harvard  College,  in  Cam- 
bridge, in  New  England,  or  to  the  President 
and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College,  or  to  the 


PROVISIONS    OF    THE    CONSTITUTION.         37 

said  College  by  some  other  description,  under 
several  charters  successively,  —  It  is  declared 
that  all  the  said  gifts,  grants,  devices,  lega- 
cies, and  conveyances  are  hereby  for  ever 
confirmed  unto  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Harvard  College,  and  to  their  successors  in 
the  capacity  aforesaid,  according  to  the  true 
intent  and  meaning  of  the  donor  or  donors, 
grantor  or  grantors,  devisor  or  devisors. 

Art.  3.  —  And  whereas,  by  an  Act  of  the 
General  Court  of  the  Colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  forty-two,  the  Governor  and 
Deputy-Governor  for  the  time  being,  and  all 
the  magistrates  of  that  jurisdiction,  were 
with  the  President,  and  a  number  of  the 
clergy  in  the  said  Act  described,  constituted 
the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College ;  and  it 
being  necessary,  in  this  new  Constitution  of 
government,  to  ascertain  who  shall  be  deemed 
successors  to  the  said  Governor,  Deputy- 
Governor,  and  magistrates, — It  is  declared 


38        PROVISIONS    OF   THE    CONSTITUTION. 

that  the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
Council,  and  Senate  of  this  Commonwealth 
are  and  shall  be  deemed  their  successors  ; 
who  with  the  President  of  Harvard  College 
for  the  time  being,  together  with  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Congregational  churches  in  the 
tow^ns  of  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charles- 
town,  Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,  men- 
tioned in  the  said  Act,  shall  be,  and  hereby 
are,  vested  with  all  the  powers  and  authority 
belonging  or  in  any  w^ay  appertaining  to  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College.  Provided, 
that  nothing  herein  shall  be  construed  to 
prevent  the  Legislature  of  this  Common- 
wealth from  making  such  alterations  in  the 
government  of  the  said  University  as  shall 
be  conducive  to  its  advantage,  and  the  inter- 
est of  the  republic  of  letters,  in  as  full  a 
manner  as  might  have  been  done  by  the  Leg- 
islature of  the  late  Province  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bay. 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  39 

VI. 

An  Act  to  alter  and  amend  the  Constitution 
of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College. 

Whereas  the  members  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  as  heretofore 
constituted,  cannot  conveniently  nor  con- 
stantly attend  to  the  diligent  discharge  of  the 
duties  enjoined  on  it :  — 

Sect.  1. — The  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  Counsellors,  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate, and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  Presi- 
dent of  Harvard  College  for  the  time  being, 
with  fifteen  ministers  of  Conore^ational 
churches  and  fifteen  laymen,  all  inhabitants 
within  the  State,  to  be  elected  as  is  hereafter 
mentioned,  shall  for  ever  hereafter  constitute 
the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College ; 
they,  or  the  major  part  of  them  present  at 
any  legal  meeting,  to  exercise  and  enjoy  all 


40  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges,  and  to  be 
subject  to  all  the  duties,  of  the  existing 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College. 
Provided,  however,  that  all  the  ministers  of 
Congregational  churches  who  are  members  of 
that  Board  shall  remain  members  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers  established  by  this  Act, 
so  long  as  they  shall  continue  ministers  re- 
spectively of  their  Congregational  churches, 
and  no  longer. 

[Sect.  2.  — As  soon  as  conveniently  maybe  after  this 
Act  shall  be  in  force,  the  present  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers,  or,  if  that  office  be  vacant,  the 
President  or  a  major  part  of  the  Fellows  of  Harvard 
College,  shall  call  a  meeting  of  the  Overseers  of  Har- 
vard College,  to  be  holden  at  some  suitable  time  and 
place,  for  electing  fifteen  laymen,  inhabitants  of  the 
State,  to  be  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers ;  the 
said  meeting  to  be  notified  by  publishing  the  time  and 
place  of  holding  the  same,  in  each  of  the  public  news- 
papers printed  in  Boston,  ten  days  at  the  least  before 
the  time  of  holding  the  same ;  and  the  said  elections  to 
be  made  by  ballot,  by  the  major  part  of  the  Overseers 
present :  and  all  persons  who  then,  if  this  Act  had  not 
been  in  force,  would  have  been  members  of  the  Board 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  41 

of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  sliall  have  right  to 
meet  and  vote  in  the  said  elections.] 

Sect.  3. — The  Board  of  Overseers,  as 
constituted  by  this  Act,  may,  at  any  legal 
meeting,  choose  by  a  majority  of  votes  a  Sec- 
retary, when  that  office  shall  be  vacant,  who 
shall  be  under  oath  truly  to  record  all  the 
votes  and  proceedings  of  the  Board,  and 
faithfully  to  discharge  all  the  duties  of  his 
office ;  and  the  said  Board  may  at  any  legal 
meeting,  by  a  majority  of  votes,  determine 
from  time  to  time  when  and  in  what  manner  its 
meetings  shall  be  held,  called,  and  notified : 
[and,  at  any  legal  meeting  of  the  said  Board,  the  Gov- 
ernor, if  present,  shall  preside ;  if  not,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  if  present,  shall  preside ;  in  their  absence, 
the  oldest  member  of  the  Council  present  shall  pre- 
side ;  if  they  also  be  absent,  the  President  of  the  Sen- 
ate shall  preside,  if  present ;  but,  in  his  absence  also, 
the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  shall  pre- 
side ;  and,  if  neither  of  them  be  present,  the  greater 
part  of  the  Overseers  present  at  such  meeting  sliall 
choose  a  President  pro  tempore,  and  until  one  of  the 
officers  aforesaid  shall  be  present.]  Provided, 
nevertheless,  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Over- 

4* 


42  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

seers  shall  have  power  to  call  a  meeting  of 
the  said  Board,  at  such  times  as  he  shall  be 
thereto  requested  by  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows of  Harvard  College  ;  such  meeting  to  be 
notified  as  the  said  Board  shall  direct. 

SECT.  1. — [When  any  minister  of  any  Congrega- 
tional church,  being  a  member  of  the  said  Board,  shall 
cease  to  have  the  ministerial  relation  he  now  has,  or  may 
have  had  at  the  time  of  his  election,  or,]  when  any 
member  of  the  elective  part  of  the  said 
Board  shall  remove  out  of  the  State,  the 
place  of  such  [minister  or]  member  shall  there- 
upon become  vacant.  And  the  said  Board 
may  at  any  legal  meeting,  by  a  vote  of  the 
greater  number  present,  remove  from  his 
place  any  member  of  the  elective  part  of  the 
said  Board  who  shall  neglect  to  attend  the 
meetings  thereof,  without  reasonable  excuse, 
when  duly  notified,  or  wTho  by  his  immoral 
conduct  shall  have  rendered  himself  unworthy 
of  holding  his  place ;  but,  before  any  vote 
shall  pass  to  remove  any  member,  he  shall 
have  reasonable  notice,  and  a  fit  opportunity 
to  be  heard  in  his  defence. 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  43 

[Sect.  5.  —  For  establishing  a  perpetual  succession  in 
the  elective  part  of  the  said  Board,  whenever  a  vacancy 
shall  happen^  therein,  by  death,  resignation,  or  other- 
wise, the  Overseers  may  at  a  legal  meeting,  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  present,  All  up  such  vacancy  by  elect- 
ing therefor  some  suitable  person,  who  shall  be  an  in- 
habitant of  the  State.  Provided,  however,  that  no  min- 
ister of  any  Congregational  church  shall  be  so  elected 
when  there  are  fifteen  ministers  of  Congregational 
churches  members  of  the  elective  part  of  the  said 
Board,  nor  shall  any  laymen  be  so  elected  when  there 
are  fifteen  laymen  members  of  the  elective  part  of  the 
said  Board ;  but,  in  all  cases  when  there  are  fifteen 
ministers  and  fifteen  laymen  members  of  the  elective 
part  of  the  said  Board,  there  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be 
any  vacancy  therein.] 

Sect.  6.  — This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when 
the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  as  hereto- 
fore constituted,  and  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows of  Harvard  College,  shall  agree  to  ac- 
cept  the   provisions    in  this    Act  contained. 

[March  6,  1810.] 

[The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  accepted  by  the 
President  and  Fellows  on  the  16th  of  March,  1810;  and 
by  the  Overseers  on  the  12th  of  April,  in  the  same 
year.] 


44  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

VII. 

An  Act  to  repeal  an  Act  entitled  "  An  Act 
to  alter  and  amend  the  constitution  of  the 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  and  to  reg- 
ulate certain  Meetings  of  that  Board. 

[Sect.  1.  —  An  Act  made  and  passed  the  seventh  day 
of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  ten,  entitled  "  An  Act  to  alter  and  amend 
the  Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College,"  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  repealed;  and  the 
Board  of  Overseers,  from  and  after  the  passing  of  this 
Act,  shall  be  constituted  in  the  same  way  and  manner, 
and  be  composed  of  the  same  persons,  and  no  others, 
that  it  would  have  been  had  the  same  Act  never  been 
made  or  passed. 

Sect.  2.  —  There  shall  be  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  as  the  same  will  be  con- 
stituted after  the  passing  of  this  Act,  on  the  second 
Wednesday  of  the  first  session  of  the  General  Court 
annually,  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  (unless  otherwise  ordered  by  the  said 
Board  of  Overseers),  if  the  General  Court  shall  remain 
so  long  in  session,  and  at  such  other  times  and  places 
as  the  said  Board  shall  order ;  at  which  annual  meeting 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  45 

it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  of  said  Board,  at 
the  first  meeting  thereof,  to  lay  before  them  the  records 
and  proceedings  of  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, and  of  the  said  Board  of  Overseers,  which  have 
been  had  since  the  passing  of  the  Act  aforesaid,  which 
is  hereb}r  repealed;  and,  in  like  manner,  all  the  pro- 
ceedings which  may  have  been  had  by  said  Corpora- 
tion, and  Board  of  Overseers,  shall  be  laid  before  them 
at  their  next  succeeding  meeting,  to  be  held  agreeably 
to  the  provisions  of  this  Act.]  [Feb.  29,  1812.] 

[This  Act  was  not  assented  to  by  the  Overseers,  or 
by  the  President  and  Fellows,  but  its  validity  was  de- 
nied by  both  Boards ;  and  it  was  repealed  by  the  Act 
on  the  next  page.] 


46  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

VIII. 

An  Act  to  restore  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College,  and  to  make  an  addi- 
tion THERETO. 

Sect.  1. — An  Act  made  and  passed  on 
the  twenty-eighth  day  of  February,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  twelve,  entitled  "An  Act  to  repeal  an 
Act  entitled  f  An  Act  to  alter  and  amend  the 
Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of 
Harvard  College,  and  to  regulate  certain 
meetings  of  that  Board,'"  be,  and  the  same 
is  hereby,  repealed. 

[Sect.  2.  —  The  Senate  of  this  Commonwealth  shall 
be,  and  they  hereby  are,  added  to  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers constituted  by  an  Act  made  and  passed  on  the 
fifth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  ten,  entitled  "An  Act  to  alter 
and  amend  the  Constitution  of  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College,"  and  shall,  together  with  the  per- 
sons mentioned  in  the  said  last-mentioned  Act,  here- 
after constitute  the  Board  of  Overseers   of  Harvard 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  47 

College ;  they,  or  the  major  part  of  them  present  at  any 
legal  meeting,  to  exercise  and  enjoy  all  the  rights, 
powers,  and  privileges,  and  to  be  subject  to  all  the 
duties,  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  constituted  under 
the  said  last-mentioned  Act.] 

Sect.  3.  — This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when 
the  Overseers  of  Harvard  College,  consti- 
tuted by  the  last-mentioned  Act,  and  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College, 
shall  agree  to  accept  the  provisions  of  this 
Act.  [Feb.  28,  1814.] 

[The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  accepted  by  the 
President  and  Fellows  on  the  10th  of  March,  1814 ;  and 
by  the  Overseers  on  the  17th  of  the  same  month.] 


48  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

IX. 

An  Act  in  addition  to  "  An  Act  to  alter  and 
amend  the  constitution  of  the  board  of 
Overseers  of  Harvard  College." 

[Sect.  1.  — Whenever  any  vacancy  exists  in  the  cleri- 
cal part  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College, 
the  Board,  in  filling  such  vacancy,  agreeably  to  the  pro- 
visions of  the  statute  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  nine,  chapter  one  hundred  and  fourteenth,  may 
elect  any  stated  minister  of  a  church  of  Christ,  or- 
dained agreeably  to  the  usages  of  the  order  to  which 
he  may  belong.  Provided  that  when  any  minister  so 
elected  shall  cease  to  have  the  ministerial  relation  he 
had  at  the  time  of  his  election,  or  shall  remove  out  of 
the  Commonwealth,  the  place  of  such  minister  at  said 
Board  shall  thereupon  become  vacant. 

Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College,  and  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows of  Harvard  College,  shall  accept  the  provisions 
of  the  same.]  [March  28th,  1834.] 

[The  provisions  of  this  Act  were  accepted  by  the 
Overseers  on  the  16th  of  February,  1843 ;  and  by  the 
President  and  Fellows  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month.] 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  49 

X. 

An  Act  to  change  the  Organization  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  the  University  at 
Cambridge. 

[Sect.  1.  —  The  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, as  constituted  by  existing  laws,  shall  continue 
until  the  day  of  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  General 
Court,  and  no  longer.] 

Sect.  2. — [The  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
President  of  the  Senate,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Board  of  Education,  and]  the  President  and 
Treasurer  of  Harvard  College,  for  the  time 
being,  together  with  thirty  other  persons,  as 
hereinafter  defined  and  described,  and  no 
others,  shall,  [on  and  after  the  clay  of  the  next  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  General  Court,]  constitute  the 
Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College ; 
they,  or  the  major  part  of  them  present  at 
any  legal  meeting,  to  exercise  and  enjoy  all 
the  rights,  powers,  and  privileges,  and  to  be 
subject  to  all  the  duties,  of  the  existing 
Board  of  Overseers. 


50  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

[Sect.  3.  —  The  thirty  persons,  who,  in  addition  to 
the  ex-officio  members  thereof,  now  constitute  the 
Board  of  Overseers,  shall  be  divided  into  three  classes 
of  ten  each,  by  lot  or  otherwise,  as  they  themselves 
may  determine ;  and  the  persons  of  the  first  class  shall 
go  out  of  office  on  the  day  of  the  next  annual  meeting 
of  the  General  Court,  and  their  places  be  supplied 
by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of 
the  Commonwealth,  assembled  in  one  room;  and  the 
persons  of  the  second  class  shall  go  out  of  office  on  the 
day  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court,  which 
will  be  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
fifty-three,  and  their  places  be  supplied  in  like  manner 
by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives ; 
and  the  persons  of  the  third  class  shall  go  out  of  office 
on  the  day  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court, 
which  will  be  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  fifty-four,  and  their  places  be  supplied  in  like  man- 
ner by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives. 
Provided  that  the  persons  of  each  of  the  said  outgoing 
classes  shall  continue  in  office  for  two  months  after  the 
day  of  the  said  annual  meeting  of  the  General  Court, 
unless  their  successors  shall  have  been  sooner  chosen 
by  the  Senators  and  Representatives.] 

SECT.  4.  —  [When  the  Board  of  Overseers  shall 
have  been  wholly  renewed  in  the  manner  prescribed  in 
the  foregoing  section,]  the  members  thereof  shall 


BOARD    OF   OVERSEERS.  51 

be  divided  into  six  equal  classes,  [by  subdivision 
of  the  previous  classes  into  two  each,  according  to  lot 
or  otherwise,  as  the  Board  may  determine,  and  having 
regard  to  seniority  of  service  among  the  said  previous 
classes  in  arranging  the  order  of  precedence  of  the 
new  series;]  and  the  said  six  classes  shall 
[thereafter]  g0  out  of  office  in  rotation,  and  in 
order  of  precedence  as  thus  defined,  one  at 
each  Successive  annual  [meeting  of  the  General 
Court,  and  their  places  be  supplied  by  joint  ballot  of 
the  Senators  and  Representatives.]  (Commence- 
ment.*) 

[Sect.  5.  — Any  vacancy  occurring  in  the  said  Board 
of  Overseers,  whether  by  death,  resignation,  removal 
from  the  Commonwealth,  or  otherwise,  shall  be  filled 
by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representatives,  as 
hereinbefore  provided ;  and  if  the  General  Court  shall 
omit  to  fill,  within  three  months  from  the  day  of  its 
annual  meeting  as  aforesaid,  any  existing  vacancy, 
then  such  vacancy  may  be  filled  by  the  remaining  Over- 
seers ;  but  the  person  so  elected  to  fill  any  vacancy, 
whether  by  Senators  and  Representatives  or  by  the 
Overseers,  shall  be  deemed  a  member  of,  and  go  out  of 
office  with,  the  class  to  which  his  predecessor  be- 
longed.] 

*  By  Act  of  18G5,  see  p.  58. 


52  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

[Sect.  6.  —  The  Governor,  if  present,  shall  preside 
at  any  legal  meeting  of  said  Board  of  Overseers ;  if 
not,  the  Lieutenant-Governor;  in  their  absence,  the 
President  of  the  Senate ;  in  his  absence,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives ;  but  if  neither  of  the 
persons  named  be  present,  then  the  meeting  shall  elect 
a  President  pro  tempore ;]  and  the  said  Board  may 
choose  by  majority  of  votes  a  Secretary,  when 
that  office  shall  be  vacant,  who  shall  be  under 
oath  truly  to  record  the  votes  and  proceedings 
of  the  Board,  and  faithfully  to  discharge  all 
the  duties  of  his  office ;  and  the  said  Board 
may  make,  establish,  and  alter  such  rules  of 
proceeding,  and  other  by-laws,  as  they  shall 
deem  meet,  provided  that  the  same  be  not  in- 
consistent with  the  constitution  and  laws  of 
the  Commonwealth. 

SECT.  7.  —  [No  member  of  the  General  Court 
which  elects  shall  be  eligible  to  a  place  in  the  said 
Board  of  Overseers ;  and]  no  person  shall  be  re- 
eligible  for  more  than  one  term  immediately 
succeeding  that  for  which  he  shall  have  been 
first  elected. 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  53 

Sect.  8.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when 
the  Board  of  Overseers  as  heretofore  consti- 
tuted, and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Har- 
vard College,  respectively,  at  meetings  held 
for  that  purpose  during  the  present  session  of 
the  General  Court,  shall  by  vote  have  as- 
sented to  the  same ;  provided  that  nothing 
contained  herein  shall  be  deemed  to  prejudice 
any  constitutional  powers  which  may  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  General  Court. 

Sect.  9.  — -All  Acts,  or  parts  of  Acts,  in- 
consistent herewith,  are  repealed. 

[May  22,  1851.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows on  the  22d  of  May,  1851 ;  and  by  the  Overseers 
on  the  same  day.] 

5* 


54  BOARD   OF    OVERSEERS. 


XI. 


An  Act  explanatory  of  the,  Acts  relating  to 
the  Organization  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers of  the  University  at  Cambridge. 

Sect.  1. — The  several  Acts  relating  to 
the  organization  of  the  Board  of  Overseers 
of  Harvard  College  shall  be  so  construed  as 
to  empower  the  said  Board  to  order  and  pro- 
vide, by  rule  or  by-law,  what  number  of  the 
members  thereof,  not  less  than  nine,  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  or  legal  meeting  of  the 
same. 

Sect.  2.  —  This  Act  shall  take  effect  from 
and  after  its  passage.        [March  3,  1852.] 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  55 

XII. 

An  Act  in  addition  to  the  Act  to  change 
the  Organization  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers of  the  University  at  Cambridge. 

[Sect.  1.  —  All  elections  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  Board 
of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College  shall  hereafter  be  by 
concurrent  vote  of  the  two  branches  of  the  General 
Court. 

Sect.  2.  — The  members  of  said  Board  of  each  of 
the  outgoing  classes  shall  continue  in  office  for  two 
months  after  the  clay  of  the  anuual  meeting  of  the 
General  Court,  notwithstanding  that  their  successors 
may  have  been  sooner  chosen. 

Sect.  3.  —  This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when  the  Board 
of  Overseers  and  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Har- 
vard College,  respectively,  at  meetings  held  for  that 
purpose,  prior  to  the  first  day  of  February  next,  shall 
by  vote  have  assented  to  the  same ;  provided  that  noth- 
ing herein  contained  shall  be  deemed  to  prejudice  any 
constitutional  powers  which  may  be  possessed  by  the 
General  Court.]  [April  6,  1859.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  Overseers  on  the 
26th  of  January,  1860 ;  and  by  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.] 


56  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

XIII. 

An   Act  in  relation  to  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College. 

Sect.  1  —  The  places  of  the  successive 
classes  in  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College,  and  the  vacancies  in  such  classes, 
shall  hereafter  be  annually  supplied  by  ballot 
of  such  persons  as  have  received  from  the 
College  a  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  or  mas- 
ter of  arts,  or  any  honorary  degree,  voting 
on  commencement  day  in  the  city  of  Cam- 
bridge ;  such  election  to  be  first  held  in  the 
year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-six ;  pro- 
vided, however,  that  no  member  of  the  cor- 
poration, and  no  officer  of  government  or 
instruction  in  said  College,  shall  be  eligible 
as  an  Overseer,  or  entitled  to  vote  in  the 
election  of  Overseers  ;  and  provided,  further, 
that  no  person  who  has  received  from  said 
College  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts  shall 
be  entitled  to  vote  for  Overseers  before  the 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  57 

fifth  annual  election  after   the  graduation  of 
his  class. 

Sect.  2.  —  The  Board  of  Overseers  shall 
annually  appoint  one  principal  and  two  or 
more  assistant-inspectors  of  polls,  who  shall, 
on  commencement  day,  from  the  hour  of  ten 
in  the  forenoon  to  the  hour  of  four  in  the 
afternoon,  at  some  place  in  said  city  of  Cam- 
bridge, fixed  by  said  Board,  receive  the  votes 
for  Overseers,  and  they  shall  sort  and  count 
such  votes,  and  make  public  declaration 
thereof,  after  the  closing  of  the  polls ;  and 
said  inspectors  shall  be  provided  with  a  com- 
plete list  of  the  persons  qualified  to  vote  at 
such  election,  and  no  person  shall  vote  until 
the  inspectors  find  and  check  his  name  upon 
such  list.  The  names .  of  the  persons  voted 
for,  the  number  of  votes  received  for  each 
person,  and  the  vacancy  or  place  in  said 
Board  for  which  he  is  proposed,  shall  be  en- 
tered in  words  at  length,  by  said  inspectors, 
upon  a  record  kept  by  them  for  that  purpose, 


58  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

which  shall,  after  such  election,  be  forthwith 
made  up,  signed,  and  delivered  by  them  to 
the  Board  of  Overseers.  The  persons  who 
shall  receive  the  highest  number  of  votes  for 
the  places  or  vacancies  in  said  Board  shall,  to 
the  number  of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  be 
deemed  and  shall  be  declared  by  said  Board 
elected  to  be  members  thereof. 

Sect.  3. — The  Board  of  Overseers  shall 
give  notice  of  the  place  of  the  polls,  the 
hours  during  which  they  are  open,  and  the 
number  of  Overseers  to  be  elected,  by  pub- 
lishing the  same  at  least  ten  days  before  com- 
mencement day  in  some  newspaper  printed 
in  the  city  of  Boston. 

Sect.  4.  — The  terms  of  office  of  the  ex- 
isting classes  of  Overseers  are  extended  to 
the  close  of  commencement  day  of  the  year 
in  which  such  terms  severally  expire ;  the 
terms  of  office  of  the  classes  hereafter 
elected  shall  successively  expire  at  the  close 
of   commencement   day   each  year   in   their 


BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS.  59 

order ;  and  the  persons  elected  Overseers 
on  any  commencement  day,  shall  supply  the 
places  of  the  class  of  Overseers  which  goes 
out  of  office  at  the  close  of  that  day,  and  the 
vacancies  then  existing  in  said  Board. 

Sect.  5.  — Whenever  there  shall  be  a  fail- 
ure on  commencement  day  to  supply  any 
places  or  vacancies  in  the  Board  of  Overseers, 
the  same  may  be  filled  by  vote  of  the  remain- 
ing Overseers ;  and  any  person  elected  to 
fill  a  vacancy,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  and  to  go  out  of  office  with  the  class 
to  which  his  predecessor  belonged. 

Sect.  6. —  The  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  President  of  the  Senate,  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives,  and  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  education,  shall  not  be 
ex-officio  members  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers of  Harvard  College  after  this  Act  shall 
be  in  force. 

Sect.  7.  — This  Act  shall  be  in  force  when 
the   Board   of  Overseers  and   the   President 


60  BOARD    OF    OVERSEERS. 

and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  respectively, 
at  meetings  held  for  that  purpose,  shall  by 
vote  have  assented  to  the  same. 

Sect.  8.  — This  Act  shall  not  be  construed 
as  in  the  nature  of  a  contract  or  a  charter, 
but  may  at  any  time  be  repealed  at  the  pleas- 
ure of  the  Legislature.     [April  28,  1865.] 

[This  Act  was  assented  to  by  the  Overseers  on  the 
21st  of  September,  1865 ;  and  by  the  President  and 
Eellows  on  the  15th  of  December,  of  the  same  year.] 


